Cosgrove led the Australian contingency in the 1999 East Timor peacekeeping mission, subsequently commanding the army and serving as defence force chief from 2002 to 2005.

He was Australian of the Year in 2001.

Since leaving the military he has worked as a non-executive director of Qantas, a Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu consultant and been the chairman of the South Australian Defence Industry Development Board and peak aged services industry body Leading Age Services Australia.

A Townsville suburb was named after him in 2008 in recognition of his work leading the rebuilding taskforce after Cyclone Larry devastated northern Queensland.

Bryce's term ends in March. Former prime minister Kevin Rudd appointed her governor-general in 2007. She was Australia's first female governor-general.